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June 30, 2008

Storm damages home

By Kim Sloan

Bernadette Whatley was walking through her house at 607 Brookview Circle in south Whitfield County Saturday night when she heard what sounded like an airplane crashing.

“The roof started shaking hard and a tree came in right beside me,” Whatley said. “It just missed my shoulder.”

The tree caused extensive damage to the house Whatley has shared with her husband for just over a year.

“It’s something I’ve seen on TV but never right before my eyes,” Whatley said.

Five homes were damaged by what appeared to be straight-line winds that came through the area near Dug Gap Road after 8 p.m. Saturday, said Jeffery Putnam, director of the Whitfield County Emergency Management Agency. No one was injured.

“It hit a spot about 300 yards long and a half a mile wide,” Putnam said. “Three homes had roof damage and two will have to have their roofs replaced.”

In Rocky Face, a tree fell on a car that was in motion and four chicken houses sustained moderate damage, Putnam said.

Putnam met with officials with the National Weather Service (NWS) Monday morning to rule out the possibility a twister may have hit. The NWS was still completing its report late Monday afternoon, an official said.

Whatley is thankful for neighbors who made sure she was safe Saturday night. Her husband was visiting relatives in Rome when the tree crashed into her house.

“They thought I was trapped inside,” she said. “They called first and took the initiative to come over and make sure I was OK.”

Whatley and her husband are staying with family until her home can be repaired, she said. The home was insured and she is hoping the insurance company will help with the repair costs.

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